Cyril of Jerusalem, St. Catechetical and secret teachings

Cyril I
(315 - 386), Bishop of Jerusalem, Saint Commemorated March 18

Born in Jerusalem in 315 and raised in strict Christian piety. Having reached adulthood, he became a monk, and in 346 he became a presbyter. In 350 or 351 after the death of Archbishop Maximus, he became his successor at the See of Jerusalem.

Living during the greatest unrest in the church from the Arians, he was overthrown by them three times from the episcopal see.

The heretic Akakios of Caesarea, deposed by the Sardician Council, decided to expel St. Cyril, using the assistance of the emperor (it is interesting that it was Akakios of Caesarea who at one time installed St. Cyril as bishop). When a severe famine occurred in Jerusalem, Saint Cyril spent all his property on works of mercy. Since the famine did not stop, the saint began to sell church items, using the proceeds to buy wheat for the hungry. The saint's enemies spread a rumor that they had seen a woman in the city dancing in sacred vestments. Taking advantage of this rumor, the heretics forcibly expelled the saint.

The saint found shelter with Bishop Silvanus in Tarsus. After this, the Local Council met in Seleucia, to which about 150 bishops arrived. Among them was St. Cyril, whom Metropolitan Akakios of Caesarea wanted to exclude from the meetings, but the Council did not agree. Then Akaki left the Council and before the emperor and the Arian Patriarch Eudoxius slandered both the Council and St. Cyril. The emperor subjected the saint to imprisonment.

When Emperor Julian the Apostate (361 - 363) reigned, he, supposedly out of piety, abolished all the decrees of Constantius directed against the Orthodox. Saint Cyril returned to his flock. After some time, when Julian established himself on the throne, he openly renounced Christ. He allowed the Jews to restore the Jerusalem Temple destroyed by the Romans and even allocated them part of the funds from state taxes for the construction. Saint Cyril predicted that the words of the Savior about the destruction of the very stones of the temple (Luke 21:6) would undoubtedly come true, and Julian’s blasphemous plan would fail. One night there was such a strong earthquake that even the surviving foundations of the ancient Solomon's temple moved, and the newly erected ones fell and crumbled to dust. When the Jews finally began construction again, fire fell from the sky and destroyed the working tools. Great horror gripped everyone. The next night, the sign of the cross appeared on the clothes of the Jews, which they could not destroy in any way.

After this heavenly confirmation of the prediction of Saint Cyril, he was expelled again, and Saint Cyriacus took the see of Jerusalem. But soon Saint Cyriacus suffered a martyr’s death (+ 363, commemorated October 28).

After the death of Emperor Julian, Saint Cyril returned to the see, but during the reign of Emperor Valens (364 - 378) he was sent into exile for the third time. Only under the holy and blessed Tsar Theodosius the Great (379 - 395) did he finally return to his archpastoral activities. In 381, Saint Cyril participated in the Second Ecumenical Council, which condemned the heresy of Macedonius and approved the Nicene-Constantinopolitan symbol.

Saint Cyril died in 386.

Was St. Cyril an Arian?

Jerome of Stridon and others classify him among the Arians on the grounds that he received ordination as a bishop from the Arian Acacia (bishop of Caesarea) and then for a long time was friends with the Semi-Arians. This opinion is also supported by the fact that Cyril did not use the word consubstantial (όμοούσιος) about Jesus Christ in his writings, as well as the words hypostasis, in the sense established by the Council of Nicaea, and although he accepted the Nicene symbol, in church practice he preferred to use the ancient local symbol of the Church of Jerusalem.

However, he was present at the Second Ecumenical Council as an Orthodox bishop, and in the acts of the council he is mentioned as “who labored against the Arians”; Theodoret of Cyrus calls him “a champion of the apostolic teaching.” In his way of thinking, Cyril of Jerusalem was apparently close to the famous Eusebius, bishop of Caesarea in Palestine, neighboring Jerusalem, whose writings he used in his teachings. While not possessing the strength and depth of mind of the great Fathers of the Church in the century, Cyril, however, had a good education, not only theological, but also general.

How does prayer to a saint help?

Appeal to his icon mainly consists of asking for intercession before the Lord. We need to understand that it is our faith in God that helps, not the image of a saint. The faces are designed to make it easier for us to focus on the prayer texts. They ask him:

• strengthening faith;
• healing of mental and physical ailments;
• a positive solution to the difficulties with the land.

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Reading the words should be done with an open heart and good thoughts. Light a candle in front of the face, and this will allow you to feel the importance of the moment even more. Here is the most commonly used prayer for this saint.

“With your tongue, wise, / You enlightened your people with divine inspiration / the one Trinity of honor, / an indivisible nature, dividing the same Persons. / Moreover, rejoicing, your all-holy memory is Let us consecrate // those who offer you a prayer book to God.”

Proceedings

Of his sermons (improvisations recorded by his listeners), catechetical (κατεκετικάι) and secret teachings (μισταγωγικάι), among 24, are important for the history of Christian dogmas, sacraments and rituals.

The catechetical teachings are based on a detailed explanation of the Creed. The saint suggested that the Christian write down the Creed “on the tablet of the heart.” “The members of the faith,” teaches Saint Cyril, “are not compiled according to human invention, but from the entire Scripture all the most important things are collected and thus one doctrine is compiled. Just as a mustard seed contains many branches in a small grain, so faith also combines in several sayings all the teachings of piety of the Old and New Testaments.”

Some Protestant theologians (especially Rivet, Riffel and Houdin) tried to prove that the author of these teachings was St. Cyril was not, but at present their belonging to Cyril of Jerusalem is beyond any doubt, although the last five teachings (secret teachings) became known in literature no earlier than two centuries after his death. In addition to the teachings, the following works by Cyril of Jerusalem are also known: a message to Emperor Constantius about the appearance of the cross at Golgotha ​​in 351, a conversation “On the Paralytic” and excerpts from the conversation “On the transformation of water into wine by Jesus Christ at Cana.”

Publication of the works of St. Cyril of Jerusalem:

• Morel (P., 1564);
• Prévot (P., 1608);
• Milles (Oxford, 1703);
• Touttée (P., 1720 and Venice, 1763, the best of all);
• Reisel et Kupp (1848);
• Migne, in “Patrologia cursus” (ser. graeca, t. XXXIII, reprinted by Touttée; Russian translation, Moscow, 1855).

To establish the authentic Greek text of the works of Cyril of Jerusalem, ancient Slavic translations of them, stored in the Moscow Synodal Library, are very important (see the description of it, Gorsky and Nevostruev).

Life of the Holy Patriarch

His birth is dated to 315. This happened in a family of rather God-fearing and God-loving parents, who tried to raise their son in the same spirit. When the future Patriarch of Jerusalem Kirill became an adult, he took monastic vows. After a short amount of time, he was appointed presbyter. In 350 he was appointed successor to the Jerusalem See.

As a patriarch, he tried in every possible way to suppress the manifestation of heresies. This caused a lot of indignation among the bishops. They tried at all costs to eliminate him. In 351, the Lord appeared to him in the form of a cross. With this news, he hurried to the emperor, thinking that in this way he could convert him to Christianity.

During the famine, he gave away his savings to feed the needy. When it was all over, I even bought cereals for church utensils. Many dissatisfied people began to spread false rumors about him, which helped the heretics to overthrow him.

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This was the first serious change in life. He went to Tarsus to see Bishop Silvanus. Metropolitan Akaki did not want to allow him to attend the meetings of the Council. But other representatives spoke in favor of him. This angered the metropolitan and he denounced the saint. After this he was imprisoned. When Julian ascended the throne, Cyril was allowed to return to the flock. But the emperor’s renunciation of Christ provoked him to prophesy about the ruler’s blasphemous plan. And so it happened, for which he was expelled again.

When the ruler died, he was able to return to his department, but this was not for long. The third exile ended only after Theodosius the Great ascended the throne. His life ended in 386. He remained in the ruling church position for 35 years, of which 16 were in exile. His memorial day falls on March 31st.

Literature

• N. I. Barsov, “Representatives of the dogmatic-polemical type of preaching in the 4th century.” (Kharkov, 1886);
• Touttée (at his publication of the works of Cyril of Jerusalem), “De vita et rebus gestis, de scriptis et de doctrina Cyrilli”;
• Tillemont, “Mémoires...” (vol. VIII);
• Oudin, “De script. eccesiast." (Vol. I);
• Ceiller, “Histoire générale des auteurs” (Vol. VI, after the 1860 edition);
• monographs:
• Plitt, "De Surilli orationibus, quae exstant" (Heidelberg, 1855);
• Marquardt, "S. Cyrillus, baptismi, chrismatis, eucharistiae interpres" (Leipzig, 1882);
• Archimandrite Porfiry, “Cyril of Jerusalem,” in “Additions to the works of St. fathers" (in Russian translation, 1855).

Cyril of Jerusalem - Catechetical and occult teachings

Essays

Preparatory teaching

or Preface to the Catechetical Teachings of Our Holy Father Cyril, Archbishop of Jerusalem

1. The stench of bliss is already upon you, enlightened ones! You are already gathering spiritual flowers to weave heavenly crowns; the fragrance of the Holy Spirit has already been poured out; you are already on the threshold of the royal palaces; Oh, if only the Tsar himself would lead you inside them! There is color on the trees now; Oh, when would you see fruit on them? There has already been a census of your names. Also the naming of the army, and the wedding lamps. And the desire for heavenly community, and good intentions, and subsequent hope. For he who said is not a liar: All things work together for good to those who love God (Rom. 8:23). Although God is generous in giving; however, he expects unhypocritical will from everyone. That is why the Apostle adds: those who are called by foreknowledge. An unhypocritical intention makes you invited. For if you are here in body, but are not in spirit; then it's useless.

2. Simon the Magus once approached the font; baptized, but not enlightened; He washed his body with water, but did not enlighten his heart with the Spirit; the body entered the font and came out of it, but the soul was not buried in Christ and was not united with Him (Col. 2:12; Rom. 6:4; 1 Cor. 10:2). I mention the falls so that you do not fall; for this happened to them educationally, and it is written as a lesson to those who come now: lest any of you should dare to tempt grace, lest some root of sorrow should suddenly create a vegetative dirty trick (Heb. 12:15), lest any of you He did not ascend, saying: Let us see what the faithful do. When I get up, I’ll look to find out what’s going on with them. You want to be seen, but don’t you think they’ll see you too? Do you feel like you know what’s happening, but God doesn’t seem to know your heart?

3. I decided that there was someone to find out what happened at the marriage mentioned in the Gospel; and, putting on indecent clothes, he went up, lay down and began to eat, because the groom allowed it. Seeing everyone wearing white clothes, he should also put on the same. However, although he ate the same food as others, he did not have the same clothes and did not have the same intention. But although the groom is generous, he is not without pickiness. Walking around each of those reclining and examining everyone (for he did not want them to be in rags, but in splendid clothes), when he saw a stranger who did not have a wedding robe, he said to him: friend! How did you come in here (Matthew 22:12)? in any form? with what conscience? let the gatekeeper not prevent you from inviting you to the feast out of generosity; let you not know what clothes you should wear to the feast. You came and saw the shining clothes on those reclining; Shouldn't you have learned at least from what you saw? Shouldn't we have gone up at the right time, so that we could go out at the right time? Now you have not risen at the right time, and you will be expelled at the wrong time. And he orders the servants: bind his feet, who dared to enter here, tie his hands, who did not know how to dress him in light clothes, and throw him into utter darkness. For he is not worthy of the wedding lamps. Do you see what happened to him? Beware of this too.

4. We, the servants of Christ, accept everyone, and being in the rank of gatekeepers, we leave the door unlocked; So, you can ascend with a soul defiled by sins and with unclean intentions. You have ascended, you have been honored, your name is written down. Do you see this important church position? Do you contemplate order and decorum? Reading scriptures? The presence of the clergy and the continuity of teachings? Revere this place and learn from what you contemplate. Go out today at the right time, and rise up tomorrow at the best time. If your soul is clothed in the clothes of the love of money, then go up dressed differently: take off your former clothes, do not cover them; put off the robe of lust and impurity, and put on the bright robe of chastity. I tell you before Jesus, the Bridegroom of souls, comes and sees the garments. You have plenty of time for this. You have forty days to repent. There is a lot of time to undress and wash yourself, and get dressed and get up. If you remain in your evil will; then the one who preaches to you will not be guilty, and you do not hope to receive grace. The water will accept you, but the spirit will not accept you. Whoever sees a wound on himself should apply a plaster; let him who has fallen, let him rise, Let none of you be Simon, let there be neither hypocrisy nor curiosity about this matter in you.

5. You can come here for another reason; a husband can come to please his wife, and the same can be said about wives. Often a slave would come to please his master, friend or friend. I throw the bait and catch you, although you came with a bad intention, but are saved with good hope. Maybe you didn’t know where you were going and what kind of net you were caught in. Caught in church nets; surrender alive into captivity. Do not run away: for Jesus does not catch you to kill you; but in order to bring to life the dead. For you must both die and rise again. I heard the Apostle saying: “We are dead to sin, but alive to righteousness” (Rom. 6:2). Die to sin and live in righteousness; from now on, live for her.

6. See what dignity Jesus gives you; you were called the catechumen, having been announced from without. I heard the word about hope, and did not know it; listened to secrets and did not understand them; listened to the Divine Scripture, and did not comprehend the depth of it. Now the announcement is pronounced not outside, but inside you. For the indwelling spirit (James 4:5) makes your mind the temple of God. When you hear what is written about the sacraments, then you will understand what you did not know before. Don't think that what you're getting is unimportant. Being a pitiful person, you get named God. Listen to what Paul says: God is faithful (1 Cor. 1:9). Listen to what another scripture says: God is faithful and righteous (1 John 1:9). The Psalmist foresaw this (i.e., that people would receive the name of God), and said on behalf of God: “I am God, and all are sons of the Most High” (Ps. 81:6). But be careful that it is not the name of the faithful, but the will of the unfaithful. Entered the field, flowed; There is no other time like this for you. If the days of your marriage were approaching, then, having neglected everything else, would you not take up the preparation of the feast? But desiring to dedicate your soul to the heavenly Bridegroom, will you not renounce the physical in order to receive the spiritual?

7. You cannot be baptized twice or thrice; otherwise one could say: the first time it was useless to me, I’ll correct it the next time. On the contrary, if it was no good the first time, you won’t be able to improve it. For there is one Lord, and one faith, and one baptism (Eph. 4:5). Only heretics are baptized another time, because their first baptism was not baptized.

8. God does not require anything else from us other than good will. Don’t tell me how my sins will be cleansed? By desire and belief, I tell you. What's shorter than that? However, if your mouth says that you want this, but your heart does not speak, then the Knower of the Heart is the judge. From now on, refrain from every evil deed; Let not your tongue utter unruly words, let not your eye sin, and let not your eye wander over useless objects,

9. Let your feet hasten to the catechetical teachings. Accept spells with reverence, and whether they blow on you or cast a spell, consider these actions to be salvation for yourself. From rough and forged gold, mixed with various substances, with copper, tin, iron and lead, when we want to get only gold; then without fire gold cannot be purified from foreign impurities; so the soul cannot be cleansed without spells. They are Divine, extracted from the Divine Scriptures. Your face is covered so that your mind is free; so that the eyes, wandering, and the heart are not forced to wander; closing the eyes in no way prevents the ear from listening to the saving teaching. Like goldsmiths, using some small tools, fanning the fire, and melting the gold placed in the crucible, intensifying the flame, they find what they are looking for; so do exorcists, when by the Spirit of God they create fear in a person, and in the body, as if in a crucible, they heat up the soul; then the devil flees; but salvation remains, the hope of eternal life, and finally the soul, cleansed from sins, receives salvation. Let us then, brethren, remain strong in hope, and having given ourselves over to it, let us trust; so that God, the Lord of all, seeing our will, cleanses us from sins; to give us the good hope of things, and grant us saving repentance. God called you, and you are called.

10. Do not shy away from catechetical teachings: no matter how long they are spoken, so that your thought does not weaken. For you receive weapons against opposing forces, against heretics, Jews, Samaritans and pagans. You have many enemies, you try to have many weapons, you place arrows in many, so you need to know how to hit a Greek with them, how to fight a heretic, a Jew and a Samaritan. And now the weapon is ready, and the spiritual sword is even more ready. At the same time, you must, with good will, stretch out your right hand in order to wage the battle of the Lord, in order to overcome opposing forces, in order to be invincible in any heretical attack.